Tag: UM Football

After a month long hiatus from Miami football, The U is back in action for bowl season. This time of year is bittersweet for all college football fans. While you get a month of nonstop action with some intriguing match ups across conferences and the College Football Playoffs, it signals the end. The U’s final game will take place at the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando against an old foe from their Big East days, the West Virginia Mountaineers. Just like the The U, we also spent the end of our “season” in Florida. We traveled to Miami to be with your grandmother (Wella) and Aunt (Titi) and the rest of Mami’s family for the holidays.

The game meal for this match up, honestly, had nothing to do with the game. Partly because their mascot, a Mountaineer, and the state aka the Mountain State, did not intrigue me to explore food possibilities. However, the main reason was because your Titi made a request. With that request, Chicken and Waffles were on the menu and a brunch style game meal felt right being in Miami.

The U came into the game on a 4 game win streak and it felt like they were intent on earning their first bowl win in 10 years. Sadly, I was a freshman the last time The U won a bowl game. For us, game day began with a Miami style “Weekend Adventure” to South Beach for your Wella’s birthday. The game was on a Wednesday, but it falls under the theme.

To start the game, there were some good and bad moments. The bad revolved around the offense’s inability to do anything and they were out of sync in every aspect going “3 and out” on most of their drives. However, the good part was an impressive defensive effort, despite no help from the offense. They were able to hold a high powered offense, ~490 yards and 31 points a game, to 7 in the half. The adventure started with brunch at the “Local House”, picked by Mami. It was a really nice and intimate spot, but sitting intimately with an 18 month child that wants to touch everything makes for an adventure in itself (looking at you). Despite having to remove utensils, cups and the flower center piece out of your reach and you trying to throw your toys into Titi’s coffee, you embraced the Miami brunch life effortlessly.

Things finally turned around for the offense when they exploded for 21 straight points with 6:30 left in the 2nd quarter. The U went into the half leading 21 to 7. Following brunch, we made our way to the beach through the breathtaking South Pointe Park. Watching you on the beach for the first time was, well, hilariously memorable. Initially, you refused to put your feet in the sand, but by the end you didn’t want leave. Add in cruising around in your ‘Smartrike’ bike and running through the splash pad to remove the sand and you have the making of an epic weekend adventure.

The second half of the game was pure bliss. The U was able to dominate in all three phases of the game and cruised to a 31 to 14 win. While the victory was very nice and The U finally ended the season on a high note, the victory meant a great deal more to the future of the program. For the first time in a long time, it feels like “The U is Back!” (::inhales::) Let me not get ahead of myself, this game showed that there is a real possibility that The U is on the right track to being relevant in the ACC and on the national stage for years to come. Much like the game, the weekend adventure ended on a high note with a game meal that rates a 7 out 10 and this time there were more judges. It wasn’t higher because I couldn’t get YOU to eat the waffle, instead you would put it in your mouth and then throw it on the floor. My guess was because it didn’t have syrup on it.

This marks the end of the 2017 season of “Food & Football”. This year’s season we saw the good, the bad and the ugly both on and off the field and it showed. From teeth getting knocked out and win streaks (on the field) to weekend adventures, quality family time and good and not so good food (off the field). Next year we’ll be praying and working towards better things on but most importantly off the field. The countdown begins to September 2018.

Ingredients
Waffles:
1. While holding a shifter over a large bowl, add 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon (tsp) baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 3 tablespoon (TBS) sugar and another cup of flour on top.
2. In another bowl melt 2 oz (= 4 TBS = 1/2 stick) of butter and mix together 15 oz of milk or buttermilk, 3 eggs and splash of vanilla.
3. Pour the liquid mix into the dry ingredients and mix slightly. (I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I pour the liquid in so I don’t make a bigger mess with the flour lest your Mami chop my head off).
4. Let the batter set for ~5 min and then spoon/pour into a hot waffle iron. Cover with nonstick spray if needed, and cook for specified time.

Chicken:
1. Take washed chicken wings and/or breast and cut the breast in half and (if desired) the drumette from the flat. I’m not sure if those are official terms, but that’s what I’ve always heard
2. Marinate in Italian salad dressing, Cajun seasoning, Adobo and a little pepper. The longer the better.
3. Preheat oil to 400 degrees in a skillet. I use an electric skillet and take it outside. (The first time Mami made me, but now I do it because I prefer to not have the house wreak of fried food smell for days.
4. Take two bowls and add flour, Cajun seasoning and dried parsley to one and in the other bowl add an egg, a splash of milk, and hot sauce.
5. Take the chicken and dredge it in the flour and then in the egg mixture, then back in the flour.
6. When you have a few place them in the oil until cooked thoroughly and golden.

After getting back into the winners column in week 10, The U looked to start a new winning streak against the Virginia Cavaliers, UVa, on the road in Charlottesville. UVa’s football team has been one of the worse teams in the ACC, statistically, the past decade winning 2 to 3 (2.6 average) of their 8 conference games a year. Despite their woes, UVa has been a tricky opponent for The U winning 6 of the last 10 games. Speaking of tricky, the game meal almost caused me to lose my mind trying to figure out a plan. For this
meal, the mascot route was a dead end. UVa’s mascot, a Cavalier, is a mounted horseman named CavMan and through research, I found that this was the name given to supporters of King Charles I in England’s Civil War (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/choosingsides_01.shtml) in 1642. After the mascot route, I started down the road of UVa’s nickname, Wahoos. However, the nickname was apparently derived from the schools rally cry in the 1890s. So, here I was, with no good leads, and game day quickly approaching. As Mami and I laid in bed, she asked me what my plan was for the game and I told her that I had nothing but information about King Charles’ supporters and a rally cry. As I told her about the rally cry, she looked over and calmly stated “isn’t a Wahoo a type of fish?” (it is!). And so the game meal was set.

The game did not start off well at all. After a solid defensive stand on the opening drive, on The U’s first offensive play, UVa snatched the ball out of the receiver’s hands for an interception. It appeared that The U’s bad luck with UVa was go to continue for another year. My luck with the game meal did not start out well either. Living in Houston, we are close to the bay where there are a ton of fish markets. After doing my due diligence online, I found a fish market in Kemah that I thought had exactly what I needed (http://m.baybrookseafood.com/?url=http://www.baybrookseafood.com%2F#2804). However, I was living the reality that you can’t believe everything you see on the internet. After visiting 5 other markets in the area, with no luck, and talking to one of the owners, I realized that none of them sold Wahoo fish because it was mostly found in the Pacific and Caribbean waters.

Needing to adjust to this sudden bad fortune, I remembered that Mami was having pregnancy cravings for tuna salad so I decided to make grilled tuna. Much like my quick adjustment, The U changed the course of the game by scoring the next 17 points of the game, but after another UVa TD, The U had a slim 3 point lead at halftime. The U completely dominated the second half and with a 34-14 win started a 2 game winning streak. The grilled tuna was amazing as well with a 9 out 10 rating. This rating was despite the fact that half way through the cooking process Mami informed me that she was craving canned tuna and not fresh tuna steaks. Next week, The U faces the Wolf Pack of North Carolina State.

What I thought Mami wanted…

What Mami actually wanted!

Ingredients
Fish

Take tuna and clean and cut into 2-3 in cuts of
not done by the market

Coat the tuna in olive oil (so it will not stick on the grill) and place in the m
arinate/sauce

On direct heat, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side

It is safe to eat under cooked tuna (like sushi), but I cooked this one thoroughly because Mami was pregnant with Deuce

Marinade/sauce

Add two table spoons of mayonnaise (also helps sticking) and 1 table spoon of Greek yogurt in a food processor

As we turn the page to week 10 of the college football season, and the first week of November, we can only hope that the football nightmare that was the month of October is behind us. During October, we saw The U go from 4-0 and #10 in the Associated Press and Coaches Polls with Championship dreams to sitting at 4-4 with little, to no chance, of winning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Coastal division. However, in life and on the football field, when things get difficult and don’t go according to plan, you have to make a decision on how you will respond. This week, we will see how The U responds at home against the Pittsburgh (Pitt) Panthers.

For us, the month of November brings back a sense of normalcy and calm. This was the first Saturday since September that I didn’t leave home to help with our church’s Pumpkin Patch or ensure everything for the Fall Festival was going as planned. We (you and I) spent this relaxing morning prepping the game meal as Mami got a much needed break to leave home and treat herself.

The game meal for this week was derived in a sort of roundabout way. Let me explain. As I mentioned earlier, the mascot for Pitt is the Panthers, so that was an automatic dead end given we don’t eat cats and I am 70% sure it’s illegal to hunt cats. So that left me with the city, Pittsburgh, in the state of Pennsylvania (PA). PA’s capital is Philadelphia (aka Philly) and if you ask anybody what food they think of when they hear Philly, about 8.5 out of 10 will say Philly cheese steak. So that was the plan.

The game was very refreshing as the offense was able to move the ball on the first drive to score a TD. However, on the ensuing kickoff, Pitt returned it to tie the game and I just knew The U was in for a fight. Like the offense, I wanted something refreshing and instead of doing a traditional Philly cheese steak sandwich, I decided on loaded Philly cheese steak fries. I mean after the success of the air fryer in week 9 I had to put the fryer back in the game.

Much to my surprise, given the previous 4 games, The U settled in after the Pitt TD and took control of the game. On the field, the game was full of highlights from every position as The U coasted to a 51-21 victory and maintained a winning record. The loaded fries were also good, but I left plenty of room for improvement. My lack of execution caused the meal to suffer. The main mistake was not setting the air fryer to 400 degrees causing the fries to take forever to cook and become soggy. The next issue was the cheese. While a traditional Philly cheese steak uses provolone or cheddar cheese, which I did, I should have made a cheese sauce because the meal was dry in my opinion. However, the ribeye was cooked amazingly and kept the rating at a decent 6 out 10. Next week’s match up will be against the Virginia Cavaliers.

Ingredients
Steak:
1. Take two ribeye steaks and flatten with a meat tenderizer
2. Season with Dale’s steak seasoning and a dash of Cajun seasoning
3. Grill for 3-4 min on each side

Veggies:
1. Slice a whole purple or white onion and a green bell pepper (mushrooms are optional)
2. Place in foil and lightly coat in olive oil and season with Cajun, Adobo and crushed garlic
3. Cook on the grill for ~10-12 min flipping halfway through the process

Cheese:
What I did:
1. Took slices of provolone from the deli, cut them into smaller slices, and placed them on the hot fries
2. Covered fries with the steak and veggies and then added shredded cheddar cheese

What I should have done:
1. Take a small saucepan and place on med-high and coat with butter or cooking spray
2. Add 1/4 cup of milk and sit until bubbles start form on the edges
3. Add slices/chunks of American cheese (white or yellow) and stir until thickens (season as desired)